Lianlian DigiTech and UnionPay International have signed an agreement to develop AI-agent payment capabilities for cross-border commerce.
The deal builds on the companies’ existing B2B payments cooperation and extends it into AI-agent payment scenarios.
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According to a statement, the expanded collaboration will leverage Lianlian DigiTech’s AI-agent platform and UnionPay International’s global payment network initially to focus on global procurement and AI Token replenishment payment scenarios.
As a first rollout, the companies plan to launch a human-in-the-loop AI-agent payment solution for global procurement. Under the model, AI-agent functions will be embedded across the procurement workflow, including supplier matching, product selection and payment execution.
The approach is intended to reduce friction in cross-border B2B payments, including settlement timelines, foreign exchange exposure, compliance requirements and manual reconciliation, the statement said.
Lianlian DigiTech said the planned model uses a human-in-the-loop approach, where the user retains final approval and decision-making control.
The companies said global procurement will serve as the initial deployment scenario. They plan to refine the user experience and technical set-up based on operational feedback. The longer-term objective is to support standardisation and broader adoption, with potential expansion into additional sectors over time.
Beyond procurement, the agreement also covers cooperation on cross-border payment networks, overseas merchant acceptance and technology development. The companies said they will explore additional AI-agent payment applications in international markets for businesses and merchants.
The partners also plan to broaden cooperation on AI technologies for financial services. This will include technical exchanges and joint development work aimed at supporting innovation and adoption.
Lianlian DigiTech said in the statement: “As an AI-native company focused on building global financial infrastructure, Lianlian DigiTech views the collaboration with UnionPay International as an important step in advancing AI-agent payments and bringing AI-agent payment technologies into commercial use.”
Recently, Lianlian completed Greater China’s first live B2B agentic transaction. The transaction, completed using Lianlian’s AI agent LoopXPay, was supported by Visa’s Agentic Directory for trusted AI agent interactions.
